updated 12:27 pm EDT, Wed October 23, 2013

Zero cost eliminates barrier to adoption

OS X Mavericks currently represents around 6 to 8 percent of all OS X web traffic, even though the software was released less than 24 hours ago, according to live data from analytics firm GoSquared. Tracking figures are currently in flux, but are so far sitting within the 6-8 percent window, occasionally surging over 9 percent. GoSquared provides analytics for over 40,000 websites.

Last year, Chitika found that only 3 percent of Mac traffic had switched to Mountain Lion within 48 hours of its launch. Unlike that OS, however, the Mavericks upgrade is free, eliminating the biggest obstacle to adoption. People still holding off are likely waiting for reasons such as time, compatibility, the risk of breaking access to mission-critical features or apps, or the need to run a backup.